Alberobello Apulia 01
The principal tourist activity in Alberobello is wandering around looking at trulli. There are also a handful of small museums and plenty of opportunities for buying kitsch souvenirs and tasting local products.
The centre of Alberobello is mostly composed of typical small-town Italian streets and buildings, with a few trulli interspersed among the buildings in a surreal fashion. Some older back streets are lined chiefly with residential trulli. The most picturesque parts of Alberobello, though, and the strangest, are the two areas composed almost entirely of trulli; over a thousand of them. Here the little white pointy-topped dwellings are clustered together like a hobbit town.
The most touristy part of Alberobello is Rione Monti, a district on a slope facing the modern town centre. It consists of several narrow lanes sloping upwards, with others winding along the hillside, and is extremely picturesque both from afar and close up. Walking around is enjoyable, but be prepared for constant welcomes from the local vendors sitting outside their trulli shops and bars. You'll find colourful terracotta whistles (a local Puglia thing); some simple local ceramics; trullo snowstorms; sliding pens; and everything possible shaped like a trullo, from moneyboxes, to silver jewellery. Many buildings contain tiny 'bars' where you can sample local wines, which are also sold in the tourist shops along with biscuits and pasta. Although the area is obviously one big tourist trap, the prices aren't extortionate: there's too much competition. The owners will try to entice you in with all sorts of claims and promises: the oldest trullo, a trullo with a well, an inhabited trullo, a panoramic terrace, free wine and liqueur tasting. Especially if you don't have the chance to stay in a trullo, accept the low-key sales pitches and enter to have a look around. You will be able to see some interiors, and the panoramic terraces do have good views. Heading up Via Monte Michele beyond the commerce, the explorer reaches Alberobello's twentieth-century trullo church, the Chiesa di Sant'Antonio.
Trullo roof, Alberobello
The second trulli district is called Aia Piccola. This is very different to Rione Monti and is less visited by tourists. It is still a residential area, with quiet lanes lined with little inhabited trulli
Alberobello Apulia 01
The principal tourist activity in Alberobello is wandering around looking at trulli. There are also a handful of small museums and plenty of opportunities for buying kitsch souvenirs and tasting local products.
The centre of Alberobello is mostly composed of typical small-town Italian streets and buildings, with a few trulli interspersed among the buildings in a surreal fashion. Some older back streets are lined chiefly with residential trulli. The most picturesque parts of Alberobello, though, and the strangest, are the two areas composed almost entirely of trulli; over a thousand of them. Here the little white pointy-topped dwellings are clustered together like a hobbit town.
The most touristy part of Alberobello is Rione Monti, a district on a slope facing the modern town centre. It consists of several narrow lanes sloping upwards, with others winding along the hillside, and is extremely picturesque both from afar and close up. Walking around is enjoyable, but be prepared for constant welcomes from the local vendors sitting outside their trulli shops and bars. You'll find colourful terracotta whistles (a local Puglia thing); some simple local ceramics; trullo snowstorms; sliding pens; and everything possible shaped like a trullo, from moneyboxes, to silver jewellery. Many buildings contain tiny 'bars' where you can sample local wines, which are also sold in the tourist shops along with biscuits and pasta. Although the area is obviously one big tourist trap, the prices aren't extortionate: there's too much competition. The owners will try to entice you in with all sorts of claims and promises: the oldest trullo, a trullo with a well, an inhabited trullo, a panoramic terrace, free wine and liqueur tasting. Especially if you don't have the chance to stay in a trullo, accept the low-key sales pitches and enter to have a look around. You will be able to see some interiors, and the panoramic terraces do have good views. Heading up Via Monte Michele beyond the commerce, the explorer reaches Alberobello's twentieth-century trullo church, the Chiesa di Sant'Antonio.
Trullo roof, Alberobello
The second trulli district is called Aia Piccola. This is very different to Rione Monti and is less visited by tourists. It is still a residential area, with quiet lanes lined with little inhabited trulli